Colicky babies no harm to mothers

Good news for new parents: that colicky baby driving you nuts should be over it in just a few months, with no one the worse for wear, says a study.

Doctors at Canada's University of Western Ontario in London, writing in the Archives of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, say they studied 547 new mothers, of whom 131 had babies with colic at six weeks of age.

When the women's mental health was examined six months after they had given birth, the researchers found no significant differences in anxiety and depression for mothers of infants who had colic.

Infant colic causes excessive crying, fussiness and irritability as well as evening and night wakefulness in up to 28 per cent of babies. "This study's finding that more than 85 per cent of colic cases remit by three months of age is in keeping with the observations of others and should provide some relief to parents who find themselves caring for a colicky infant," the researchers said.

Girls seemed to shake off colic faster than boys, and the mothers of girls who did were more likely to have received pain medication during labour and delivery.

"Additional relief can be derived from the fact that by the 12th week of life, the total duration of crying and fussing had fallen to an average of one hour a day, which is about half that seen at six weeks of age."

This lines up with the normal crying curve, which peaks at six weeks of age, decreasing to a normal level at three months.

- REUTERS

Herald feature: Health